Behind the scenes: How the Schalit deal came about ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Yaakov Katz - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am The main breakthrough came in July. After five years of negotiations, Hamas forwarded a letter to Israel in which, for the first time, it outlined its final terms for a prisoner swap for Gilad Schalit. Three months earlier, David Meidan, a former senior Mossad operative, had been appointed chief mediator to the Schalit talks by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Upon receiving the letter, he immediately got to work. » Read more

Prisoner swap deal with Israel serves Hamas interests ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua by Emad Drimly, Osama Radi - (Analysis) October 14, 2011 - 12:00am Five years after the indirect talks with Israel to reach a prisoner swap deal, observers believe that the timing of hammering out the deal to release 1,027 prisoners for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is apparently calculated by the Hamas movement to serve its interests. As the deal to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners was declared on Tuesday, the leaders of the Islamic movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, described the deal "a great victory." » Read more

Gilad Shalit deal boosts Hamas, but also reveals group's weaknesses ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor by Joshua Mitnick - (Analysis) October 13, 2011 - 12:00am Hamas is hoping for a boost in domestic popularity after securing the freedom of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for returning Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, but many also see the historic deal as a sign of the Islamic militant group’s recent vulnerability. » Read more